A conch ("konk" or /ˈkɒntʃ/)'s one of a number of different species of medium-sized to large saltwater snails or their shells. The true conchs are marine gastropod molluscs in the family Strombidae, and the genus Strombus. The name "conch" comes, via French, from the Greek word meaning any kind of shellfish or their shells. The first use in English cited by the OED's from 1398, and declares firmly that "Al that fysshe wyth the shelles ben callyd conch" in other words, "all water… (More on Conch)